Dust ring found round closest star

Artist’s impression of dusty belts around Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our Solar System. Does this belt indicate the presence of an undiscovered planetary system?

Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser

Observations of Proxima Centauri, the closest star outside the Solar System, have revealed a ring of glowing dust encircling it, indicating the possibility that it is host to an elaborate planetary system.

An image of the sky around bright star Alpha Centauri AB, also showing Proxima Centauri.

ALMA observations also suggest the presence of another dust belt about ten times farther out.

Both belts are much farther than the orbit of planet Proxima b, which is four million kilometres from Proxima Centauri.

“This result suggests that Proxima Centauri may have a multiple planet system with a rich history of interactions that resulted in the formation of a dust belt,” says Guillem Anglada of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, who led the study.

“In combination with the study of protoplanetary discs around young stars, many of the details of the processes that led to the formation of the Earth and the Solar System about 4,600 million years ago will be unveiled.

"What we are seeing now is just the appetiser compared to what is coming!”

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